Bryan Clauson makes a return to Indy LightsFan Force United is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with USAC standout and newly minted Indy 500 veteran, Bryan Clauson, to pilot its #24 Fan Force United machine in the upcoming Firestone Indy Lights race that is part of the Milwaukee IndyFest weekend (Friday evening, June 15th), as well as the Sukup 100 Firestone Indy Lights race at the Iowa Speedway (Saturday evening, June 23rd).

Bryan is making a return to the Firestone Indy Lights series, where he competed in six events in 2011, scoring four top five finishes. Coincidentally, Bryan’s two best finishes in the series came at Milwaukee and Iowa, where he scored 4th and 3rd place finishes. Milwaukee and Iowa saw Bryan pulling “triple duty” in 2011, as he engaged in Indy Lights, USAC Silver Crown, and USAC Midget competition. Speaking of Iowa Speedway, Bryan dubbed it “one of my favorite tracks,” as he not only scored his best Indy Lights finish there, but it is also the site of one of his most satisfying USAC Sprint car victories.

Next weekend’s Milwaukee race comes in the middle of “Indiana Midget Week,” so Bryan has made the difficult decision to skip the Friday night race at Bloomington Speedway in order to be able to compete in Milwaukee. However, in the two days prior and the two days following the Milwaukee Indy Lights race, Bryan will be going USAC Midget racing at Gas City, Putnamville, Lawrenceburg, and Kokomo. This weekend, Bryan is competing in the USAC Sprint Car series “Eastern Storm Tour,” and has scored victories at New Egypt Speedway and Grandview Speedway.

Offering his thoughts on this opportunity coming to him in the wake of his first run at the Indy 500, Bryan insisted that this is “a giant step forward. To be hired to race at the Indy level, whether in Lights or the big cars, is really exciting. Last year in Lights, and this year at Indy, I was able to use my Road to Indy scholarship funds to get myself in a seat. For these races, Fan Force United came to me and asked if I wanted to do this with them. So not only is Fan Force United giving me a chance to drive for them at two tracks that are a lot of fun to race, they are also doing it as an investment in me, which is a really great feeling.”

Bryan added to his thoughts, saying “I’ve known Tyce (Fan Force United co-owner, Tyce Carlson) for a long time. Since he came up racing the same way I did before he got to Indy, I’ve always kept an eye on his program. Everybody that really pays attention to these types of things, knows that they always put together a qualify effort. What those guys did at Indy this year was not lost on people. Given some really challenging circumstances, they did a fantastic job. Plus I get to work with Tim Wardrop (Fan Force United’s chief engineer and director of competition). Tim’s an Indy legend in his own right and I’ve always heard great things about him. There is so much to learn about this type of racing, and I hope to learn a lot from him. I feel like it certainly gives me a better shot at doing some winning along the way.”

“It’s great to be able to give somebody like Bryan another shot to continue his development,” said Tyce Carlson. “We’re excited that he was available and we’re pretty pumped to be able to hop on the BC bandwagon.” Sharing his partner’s enthusiasm, co-owner Chris Williams added: “We hope to be the beneficiaries of Bryan’s Indy Lights and Indy 500 experience, and that we are able to see a repeat performance of the great runs that he had at these tracks last year – maybe even a few spots better.” Scott Williamson, the third principal of Fan Force United, contributed his own thoughts, saying “This is a time of transition for the team, and it’s great to be able to go through it with a driver like Bryan, whose record of success everywhere he’s gone absolutely speaks for itself. We can’t wait to see what he can do, and we’re looking forward to seeing the #24 near the front of the field. Hopefully we’ll give our Fan Force a reason to bring and ring those cowbells the next couple of weekends.”

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